Memphis City Schools Commissioner Kenneth Whalum has been asking the same questions about consolidation for weeks, and since no one seems to have answered him, we’ll see if we can.
We know that he relishes his role as an unrepentant maverick and provocateur (and we need more, not less), and he may not really be interested in the answers as much as asking the questions. However, for the purposes of this post, we are presuming that he really wants answer to his questions.
It’s often amazing that after 35 years of talking about consolidation here, there seems to be just as many myths as facts. Chief among them is the belief that all consolidations are alike. The truth is that there are as many versions of it as there are consolidated governments.
Charter Commission Chair Julie Ellis and her colleagues could have done the simple thing – just take city and county org charts and mash them together and adjourn after a couple of meetings.
But small ideas and simple notions won’t fix the badly broken business models of city and county governments. That’s why the well-worn comments that there are other ways to fix our governments aren’t grounded in reality. For 25 years, Memphis and Shelby County Governments have pursued functional consolidations, interlocal agreements, new funding relationships and equitable growth agreements, and it’s nearly impossible to find a trend line or indicator that’s better for our community as a result.
Q – In what instances of city/county consolidation across this nation are public schools not also consolidated?
A – Well, Indianapolis for one. It has 11 districts. Denver for another; it has 18 districts. In Louisville, schools were consolidated four decades before the governments were. That said, we reject the notion that a majority African-American school district can only improve if it combines with a majority Caucasian school district.
Q – Were public schools on the table the last time Memphis considered consolidation?
A – Yes, but back then, there wasn’t two elected school boards, and Memphis City Schools hadn’t just received a $90 million grant from the Gates Foundation and funding from the Race to the Top. We think Memphis City Schools is making too much progress and has become ground zero for school reform, and it gains nothing from combining with Shelby County Schools.
Q – Have any steps been taken to bring the boards of our city and county school boards on board the consolidation effort?
A – Probably not since the Charter Commission was told that it did not have the authority to merge the two school districts. Even if it had the power, we don’t think schools should be part of this unless the districts’ own elected officials say so. School board members are elected to make decisions about their districts and the new government’s charter gives them the authority on this issue.
Q – What happens to the institutionalized debt now maintained by Memphis and Shelby County once consolidation takes place?
A – The debt originated by Memphis will be paid by the urban services tax district and the debt originated by Shelby County will be paid by the general services tax district. It’s a requirement of state law.
Q – City Councilman Jim Strickland was quoted not long ago as saying that when consolidation occurs “there will be no more Memphis.” In what sense is that true?
A – We presumed when we read that quote that Councilman Strickland was just making the point that there will be no City of Memphis Government just as there will be no Shelby County Government. Often, we act as if the governments are the same as the geographic entities. Memphis as a place will continue just as Shelby County as a place will continue.
Q – You say the “two government structures impede cooperation and collaboration.” Are you convinced that merging two dysfunctional governments is the best way to create a single functional one?
A – It’s precisely because they are two dysfunctional governments that a new government is needed. This isn’t about bolting together two governments, as Mayor Stephen Goldsmith said, but about creating a totally new governmental platform that increases efficiency, eliminates duplications and red tape and creates a single vision for economic development. Doing nothing is not an option since both are dysfunctional and the chances of correcting this without something dramatic are slim and none.
Q – Has any research been done by this body into what benefits should attach to Memphis as the county seat of Shelby County?
A – No one pays a heavier price for inefficient government than the taxpayers of Memphis. Every dollar wasted on duplication is a dollar that can’t be spent teaching our children, making our neighborhoods safer, improving our quality of life and fighting poverty. Memphians will get ethics rules written into the charter and which can’t be changed by the elected officials who are governed by them. Memphians will get centralized services and people who need social and human services will no longer have to figure out whether to go to City Hall or the County Building to get help. More formula-based state and federal money will come to our community to be spent on urban problems because Memphis’ population will increase by 50%. Also, there will be better, centralized neighborhood redevelopment and economic growth. We’re sure there are others, but those come to mind quickly.
Q – How can any self-respecting Memphian, especially an African-American, advocate for dismantling the government structure of the city where the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was crucified?
A – It seems to us that Dr. King’s entire life was about changing and fighting government, so we’re not sure why we should fight to save one that brought him to Memphis in the first place. More to the point, Dr. King was about people, not bureaucracies, so we’re not sure why he would be offended if we created an entirely new government that would serve the people of Memphis better.
Q – How can any self-respecting Memphian suggest that majority rule – now
that the majority is Black – no longer apply?
A – Shelby County is majority black and the majority of its voters are black. The power of this majority is likely to be seen dramatically in the August elections. If you are referring to the dual referendum requirements of the Tennessee Constitution, we agree with you. It doesn’t make any sense. Since Memphians pay taxes to both governments, we think Memphis voters should get two votes to one for people living outside Memphis. But that’s not Tennessee law, so we need to play the game with the rules given to us.
Interesting that Whalum is so “pro black” now…since 1996 he hasn’t been concerned about the 9th Cong District seat staying black..as a vocal, visible, and ardent Steve Cohen supporter. As usual, he has a lot of questions, no answers, and represents the status quo. What a demagogue and hypocrite!!!
“we think Memphis voters should get two votes to one for people living outside Memphis.”
yep. Y’all keep on thinkin….
” For 25 years, Memphis and Shelby County Governments have pursued functional consolidations, interlocal agreements, new funding relationships and equitable growth agreements, and it’s nearly impossible to find a trend line or indicator that’s better for our community as a result. ”
I haven’t seen that happen successfully in the last 6 years. Maybe it’s because they were trying to do it without public input, new ideas, successful models, intelligent input not based of hiding corrupt practices, etc.
“We think Memphis City Schools is making too much progress and has become ground zero for school reform, and it gains nothing from combining with Shelby County Schools.”
You’d be almost right, it gains more kids but that’s about it.
“Q – City Councilman Jim Strickland was quoted not long ago as saying that when consolidation occurs “there will be no more Memphis.” In what sense is that true?”
It would take Memphis to be on the absolute edge of total collapse and failure for any of our leadership to get the hell outta the way before consolidation would ever happen. They would have had to already sucked it completely dry.
” Doing nothing is not an option since both are dysfunctional and the chances of correcting this without something dramatic are slim and none.”
Well put, but, a little nice!
“Q – How can any self-respecting Memphian, especially an African-American, advocate for dismantling the government structure of the city where the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was crucified?”
Right now, the city is plagued by the organization that Dr. King once belonged to. The political agenda of a religious organization that actively engages in promoting racism as a way of being in a city that could have been known for peace is disgusting to say the least.
Dr. King wasn’t about people, fighting, or changing anything, he was about transcending the reality shoved up in your face blocking your view of reality for the broader reality beyond your hand, he was a man of peace, not violence, and he was a man of HUMANITY, not “people”.
His dream was that all men of all colors could be so human in the face of adversity that together would could overcome anything. Anywhere you see one piece of that happening you can also see the other.
As always, Dr. King had a dream and Memphis was about snuffing out all dreams, regardless of color. I see as many people of color attempting to snuff out everyone’s dreams in Memphis as I see of any other. THAT is disgusting! It’s no different in that respect than it was before he ever came here.
I hope that K. Whalum is not “pro skin color”, because that would mean he is stupid, and I don’t think he is.
If by his last question he means that this cities government is slanted towards “giving jobs to people of color preferentially” well, that’s WWH’s dream, and our nightmare. That is also called institutionalized racism.
Becoming as bad as the last group who clobbered you is not a solution or a thought out plan, it’s a knee jerk reaction and those never work out long term, that’s another reason Memphis is failing so badly.
THANK GOD our new mayor isn’t that stupid.
Now, on to reorganizing MCS! If you don’t restructure the core, it won’t matter what color you paint Memphis, it will still be dying at it’s core.
You’ve been officially warned.
Not sure if this is the appropriate forum but the author seems to have some familiarity w/ Indianapolis schools (noting the 11 districts).
Using the Mayor’s figures in his “city of choice” presentation, can someone explain why Indianapolis’ peer group figurs for density, area and housing units/sq mile are comparable, yet Memphis has 209 public schools vs. Indianpolis 66? Even Baltimore w/ 3x the density and ~50k more people has fewer schools. Aside from city/county consolidation, is real discussion taking place regarding consolidating schools (w/in MCS) period? At a face value the more “perimeters to defend/train,” the less effective we are in developing a consistent education which serves our children.
Any insight is appreciated!
It’s called government jobs in an apologist politically correct move.
That’s why we have more schools that are not performing anywhere near as well.
The board is a bunch of nut-jobs apparently. Who else would stay on to make sure nothing ever gets better on purpose? Look at their latest decision to do nothing new. It’s disgusting. Worse is they think they’re doing anyone a favor in the light of their statistics which say ABYSMAL FAILURE.
Then the admin blocks releasing records to auditors? Something stinks at MCS and it’s big and dead.
We give them money to operate, we need to be able to get rid of the clock riders, THE BOARD, NOW!
Tell me why our news stations don’t investigate anything?
If we get rid of the board, we can start straightening out the administration and change the thrust of MCS from providing jobs to educating children properly for the $7k/yr/student we pay.
Or we can watch Memphis slip all the way into the gutter and down the drain.
We’re already in the gutter.
Maybe you’ve noticed hat there are also many schools in the MCS system that are 100% black population.
That’s reverse segregation. Doing the job for the racists, Stockholm Syndrome.
That’s what happens when you don’t have real leadership or even actual thought, kneejerks. The appropriate response to de-segregation isn’t resegregation via neighborhood schools, and segregation isn’t where you bring some students DOWN to the lowest level. You ONLY bring low students up, and you don’t allow the economic trap that has occurred here to happen. Memphis City Schools is exactly BACWARDS to common sense. There should be a federal lawsuit for the damages it continues to wage on Memphis.
Why is Memphis mostly poor people?
Because MCS doesn’t educate your children or provide an atmosphere to get an education commensurate with the pricetag.
They don’t care and it shows. The never did. It’s hard to believe that you can’t see it when it’s right in your face.
It’s time to make them care.
Don’t wait on the poor to have an uprising, if you wait for that you might as well dig a grave for yourselves.
This is a job for the rich of Memphis to take up, people with the wear-with-all to make it happen.
No one here should expect some eternal reward for living in a town with this happening in 2010 and not doing ALL they can about it.
It is an abomination to anyone with common sense.
The rich power structure individuals who live in Memphis by and large send their chidlren to elite private schools, spend large amounts of time away from Memphis in vacation homes, and don’t give a shit about MCS. They all have an exit plan, it includes letting their memberships to memphis Country Club lapse when they eventually bolt.
This guy is the biggest bigot in Memphis
Only a black man can be superintendent?
He should be locked up not on a board involving children
Thanks
Jim